With the best time of year starting soon, (March Madness) I figured I’d take us back in time and check out some of the most underrated/dominant players in the tournament.
1. Doug Edert. In case you didn’t know Doug Edert played for the Saint Peters Peacocks in 2022. During his time as a Peacock, averaged 9.8 ppg during the season, and 14.3 ppg during the tournament. Saint Peters entered as a 15-seed and immediately had to play number 2 seeded Kentucky. Doug scored 20 points in the opening upset, then followed it with 13 points, 10 points, and finally 2 points in the Elite Eight loss to the North Carolina Tarheels. Although this team came up short of their ultimate goal; they made history by becoming the first 15 seed to reach the elite eight. One of the things that made Doug so popular was not only his ability to shoot the ball, but also his mustache.
2. Jack Gohlke. Some might call him a one-hit wonder, but when it’s the NCAA tournament, that’s the last thing anyone’s worried about. Jack played for the Oakland Grizzlies and averaged 13.1 ppg during the season, and 27 ppg during the tournament. The Grizzlies came into the tournament as the 14th seed and had to face off against a very talented #3 seeded Kentucky. Jack had a historic game scoring 32 points with 10 3 pointers made (One short of the record). After that, they faced NC State in an overtime thriller, but sadly they came up short and their incredible run came to an end. He never really had intentions to go to the NBA, but he also knew he could compete with the guys he was going against.
3. Max Abmas. People might disagree with this choice considering he was actually a fairly well-known player. Max played for a couple teams, but the one I’ll be talking about is the Oral Robert Eagles. He was a really efficient scorer averaging 24.5 points during his 2020-2021 season. This team was seeded 15th and had to face off against 2 seeded Ohio State and won in overtime, Max finished with 29 points. They then played the Florida Gators and won while Abmas scored 26 points. In the Sweet 16 they lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks, and Max still finished with 25 points. This pick could be controversial because this player was actually the nation’s leading score for his year.
HM: Steph Curry
